The Newspaper Stand
by CoffeeTea
Summary: Marui Bunta, at your service! Just starting his job at the news department, he needs to get the goods on Niou Masaharu! Well, how do you get on the good side of the 'Trickster? Toxic Pair. Marui/Niou
1. Getting the Job

The Newspaper Stand

Summary: Marui Bunta, at your service! Just starting his job at the news department, he needs to get the goods on Niou Masaharu! Well, how do you get on the good side of the 'Trickster'? (marui/niou)

Pairing: Toxic Pair

Warnings: This is some boy/boy love! Turn back if you don't need to read it! Also, minor swearing… kissing. Etc. In later Chapters, though (:

Marui looked around the office that he was situated in. Blowing a large, green bubble to ease his thoughts, he stared at the man in front of him and smiled. It was time to put his acting skills to the test. 

"What's your name?"

"Marui Bunta."

"And… why are you here?"

Marui stared at him. "To get a job?" Duh. Why else would someone want to come to the 'Idolize' Magazine Office? As the interview progressed, Marui felt himself using his 'business man' act less and less. All he was doing was answering questions, and damn. It was pretty boring too.

"Age?"

Seventy two. Well, that's what he wanted to say. He wanted to mess with someone. But, this was going to be his first _real_ job. He had to act his part. "Twenty Three." And he blew another bubble, trying to clear out his boredom.

"Okay, come back tomorrow and we'll give you some work to do."

"Okay, so your job is a reporter, right?"

Marui nodded at the man.

"You know Niou Masaharu?"

Marui nodded again. Who _didn't_ know Niou Masaharu? Singer. Dancer. Actor. And, 'Trickster'. The best of the best. Japan's rising star. Blah blah blah. Everything about him was perfect and what not.

"We need you to find out his weakness. His secrets. So, you're going to this-" the man handed him a brochure, "banquet. Remember to meet him. Talk, get to know each other. Just make sure he doesn't find out that you're a reporter. A few weeks ago, he told people that he was bi. Maybe… just maybe he'll trust you."

Marui stared at the man. His new boss worried too much. Charming a boy into telling him secrets was easy. It was like… like when he got Kirihara to spill that he liked Yukimura! Yeah, and then… easy as pie; he got them together. It couldn't be any harder than that, right?

Looking down at the brochure in his hands, he skimmed its contents. Something about celebrating Niou's new Album. Uh… okay?

"Is that all I have to do?" A nod in response. Seriously? His first job would be just… this? This easy task of getting someone to trust him? He was getting paid for _this_? "Okay then… I'll just get ready for the banquet tonight, alright?" And he walked home with brochure in hand.

Once getting home, he collapsed on the couch. Tonight would be a long night. Taking a short, five minute nap, he woke up to get ready.

First, he would need to get his suit, since the banquet seemed pretty formal. And he would need to fix his hair, appearance to fit that of a businessman, but still one that could party. Then, he would have to learn the most he could about Niou Masaharu before the banquet.

"Ah… okay, here's a file." Marui mumbled to himself as he looked at his laptop screen. '**Niou Masaharu admits to being bi-sexual.**' Marui scrunched his nose up. He, himself was straight. He could never, would never be bi-sexual or gay. It just wasn't… Marui. Marui was _fine_ with gay people, though. Like, he didn't have some weird stereotypical thing against them… it's just that, he felt awkward when around people like that… "Well, hopefully tonight will be interesting…"

Taking a closer look at the brochure he was given, he gaped at the names of business men that Niou had 'specially invited'. Yukimura Seiichi? Fuji Syuusuke? Echizen Ryoma? _Atobe Keigo_? What type of party was this? And Yukimura would be there! What if he saw Marui? Yukimura _knew_ that Marui hated parties and anything of the sort.

What would Yukimura say?

"Oh, hey there Marui. I didn't know that you would come to something like this…" No. No, he wouldn't say it like that. He would be more like…

"Marui-kun! I never knew you liked Niou-san! Come, come, let's introduce you!" And then Yukimura would drag him off to random places, while Marui, himself, tried to say upright.

And… and if Yukimura was there, no doubt, Kirihara would be brought to the party too. Oh, the torture. He would have to listen to Kirihara talk and fawn over Yukimura. He would have to watch Kirihara, as he finally reached the age of 21. And no doubt about it, Kirihara would want Marui to drink with him!

Marui never did have a high alcohol tolerance. And if he drank with Kirihara, he would most likely end up in someone else's bed the next morning- regardless of gender.

Oh the horror.

He couldn't go to this Banquet. He _wouldn't_. But… it was for his job. His first _real_ job (no, working at a gas station did not count as a job). He would make sure to keep this job, if not for a month. But, really. He couldn't get fired on the first week on the job, could he? No. He would go to the banquet.

He would find out Niou Masaharu's secret within the week, and then he would never have to see the young man again. Ever. Except, on the posters in his sister's office when he visited her, of course.

Marui's sister worked for a magazine company. Not the same type as Marui's. She worked as a photographer for models, actors, and artists. So, obviously, Niou Masaharu would be someone she took pictures of. She worked at 'Sexteen' Magazine, while Marui worked at 'Idolize'.

Okay, so that was the plan. He would meet Niou, talk to him, have _one_ drink (for courtesy of the celebration) with Niou, learn about Niou, and all of that extra stuff in between. All the while, he couldn't let Niou find out about him working for the magazine 'Idolize'.

As Marui headed out the door to go to the party, he couldn't help but feel as if he had forgotten something very important about Niou Masaharu.

Unknown to Marui, his job of finding 'the goods' on Niou, would be a lot harder than he thought. But it was alright. Afterall, Marui _was_ a tensai. Right?

**A/N: Okay! Here it is! The first chapter is kind of short, sorry about that! I'll make sure to add details and make them longer. Remember to review, okay? Thank you for reading so far!**

**I didn't edit this. Just wrote it and got it over with, yknow? So, sorry if there are any small mistakes and whatnot on this chapter!**


	2. Let's Party with Yagyuu?

The Newspaper Stand

Summary: Marui Bunta, at your service! Just starting his job at the news department, he needs to get the goods on Niou Masaharu! Well, how do you get on the good side of the 'Trickster'? (marui/niou)

Pairing: Toxic Pair

Warnings: This is some boy/boy love! Turn back if you don't need to read it! Also, minor swearing… kissing. Etc. In later Chapters, though (:

**Oh god, I realized that the line breaks didn't work, so now I'm using this wacko -`-`- line, okay?**

As the Marui got in the company's car, he looked at his appearance in the mirror. He had the perfect look of a partying businessman. Playful, but strict. Outgoing, but serious. Looking in the mirror one last time, he stepped out of the car and looked up at the house in front of him.

A sign was in front, talking about Niou, while on the bottom of the sign, it said- in bold print, _**Provided and Sponsored by the Great Ore-sama, Atobe Keigo**_. Oh, how fun. So… this must be one of Atobe's houses. It was quite large…

The house was beautiful, Marui mused while he stepped in, showing him invitation to the ladies up front. Looking around the house, he spotted several women gossiping in groups. There were also groups of men, just talking. Waiters moved around the house expertly, as if having seventy people in the house was a common occurrence.

Glancing around again, Marui noticed that the person everyone was supposed to be celebrating… was not present.

Gaze darting from person to person, searching for that one person, he frowned, giving up his search. Opting for standing awkwardly by the walls, since he knew no one here, he stood off to the side.

"Marui-ku-" Yukimura was cut off.

"Sugar head!"

_Oh shit._

He had forgotten that Yukimura was invited to the party as well. Turning his grimace into a smile, Marui turned to the couple. "Hey there guys…" Marui's eyes scanned the area, looking around for an exit, "I didn't know you would be attending this… congratulatory party for… Niou-san."

Yukimura gave him a blinding smile. "Yes, of course. We are… acquaintances. But, I did not know that you were invited, either, Marui-san."

Marui froze. Scratching his head, he spoke slowly. Carefully. "Ah, yes. Turns out that my… boss was invited, but didn't want to come because of, " he paused, thinking of something, "family problems. He didn't want to be rude, so he sent me here instead." Looking up into Yukimura's eyes, he hoped that Kirihara and him would think that the story was true.

"Oh, how… interesting. May I ask you who your boss is? I never quite caught where you worked." Damn that smile. Yukimura knew that he was hiding something.

Averting his eyes to the ground, Marui sniffed and looked up into Yukimura's eyes. "Ah, well you see-"

"Ah, Seiichi-san, Ore-sama see's that you have made it to the banquet. That, might Ore-sama add, but Ore-sama is hosting." Turning, Marui silently thanked the man who had saved him from a hell of a lot of trouble. His eyes widening, Marui gaped and stared at Atobe Keigo. _The Atobe Keigo_.

Looking around again, Marui crept along the wall, hoping not to be seen. Bumping into a man, he jerked himself upwards. Oh, good. It wasn't someone overly important that could get him kicked out. Smiling at the glasses wearing purple haired man, he apologized for knocking into him.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." He said in a… hopefully innocent tone.

"Ah, it was my fault. Pardon me for being in the way. I apologize. My name is Yagyuu Hiroshi."

"Marui Bunta."

Nodding to the man, he continued his journey of getting as far away from Yukimura and Kirihara as he could. Finally reaching a corner, he stopped walking, inwardly musing how he probably looked like a ninja. After all, he _was_ a tensai.

After all the trouble that Yukimura had caused, Marui had almost forgotten about why he was at the party in the first place. Looking around the room again, he tried to spot the 'brilliant silver hair' that could be seen anywhere. Not finding anyone who even resembled the 'Trickster', Marui sat down in an empty chair. Maybe he was busy talking to business associates in a vacant room. Or, maybe others were congratulating him on a job well done, by buying him beer.

Marui didn't know. All he knew, was that Niou Masaharu was _not_ in the room. Well, hell. How was Marui supposed to get someone to trust him, if he couldn't even find said person? Glancing around again, Marui sighed. This would take a while.

"Wine?" A hand reached down with a wine glass.

Startled, Marui jumped in his seat, and turned around to see who had scared him. "Ah." He nodded and took the wine from… Yagyuu-san? Was that his name? "Thank you." Sipping the wine, he watched at the party changed from business-like and quiet, to a party with… rather strange dancing for businessmen. Maybe it was the change in music that had inspired this spontaneous change of atmostphere.

Eyes widening as he realized who exactly was in the middle of the room, dancing. Poor Kirihara… This type of dancing seemed almost… illegal. It was too sexy. Too hot. And the room had many occupants grinding against each other. Marui had thought that these businessmen would be stern, strict, and have no ability to dance what-so-ever.

Blinking a couple of times, to make sure that he wasn't just seeing things, he opened his eyes to the nightmare. Yukimura… was doing… _those_ type of things to Kirihara. It couldn't- shouldn't have been called _dancing_. It was more like… sex. Sex with clothes on.

_Shit._ Turning back to Yagyuu-san, he felt bad. He wasn't listening to what his new 'acquaintance' had been saying. He was too preoccupied, watching… that. Marui shuddered slightly, frowning at how he used to respect Yukimura. Not anymore. Not after…

"-more wine?"

"Hmm what?" Marui looked at Yagyuu-san.

"Do you want more wine?" he asked, "You've already finished that one."

Looking down, Marui finally realized that while watching the… dancing, he had been nervously sipping at his wine. Feeling only a slight bit airy, he smiled. "Thanks, Yagyuu-san. Yes please." And Yagyuu walked away to get Marui his drink.

"Ore-sama is sorry to disturb your dancing," the whole room got silent, "But, we need to celebrate the person that this party is held for!" Marui looked around again, searching for the silver hair.

"Ore-sama introduces… Niou Masaharu!"

Looking at the person walking up the stage, Marui leaned back. Finally. Wait. That guy didn't have white hair. His hair was purple. What? And he was wearing glasse- _Yagyuu-san_? What in the world was happening? Mari shook his head, confused.

"Thank you, everyone." 'Yagyuu' said.

Marui was still confused. So much… for being a tensai.

**A/N: Ah…. Barely four pages. But it's progress on getting longer! Sorry it wasn't long, it's just like… a small 'in-between' chapter. Uhmmm review! Please. Flames welcome, criticism welcome, anything please!**

**I also didn't edit this. It's 11:55pm, and my mom said that I have to get to bed by 12. Yeap… talk about being in a rush. Hope you liked the chapter!**


	3. Wine Glass

The Newspaper Stand

Summary: Marui Bunta, at your service! Just starting his job at the news department, he needs to get the goods on Niou Masaharu! Well, how do you get on the good side of the 'Trickster'? (marui/niou)

Pairing: Toxic Pair

Warnings: This is some boy/boy love! Turn back if you don't need to read it! Also, minor swearing… kissing. Etc. In later Chapters, though (:

Disclaimer: Not even close to owning anything.

**Okay, so the -`-`-` didn't work. Wtf. Yeah, uhmmm ionno what I'm going to do.**

***** okay, so I feel really bad when like a lot of people review for the first chapter, and then for the second one, I only get three reviews. Did my writing get worse or something? Sorry… just wondering. **

/-/-/-/

"Thank you everyone," 'Yagyuu' smirked at the crowd and pulled off a mask, revealing silver-white hair, and green eyes.

_What. The. Fuck?_ Marui gaped at the man on stage. So, the whole time… he was actually talking to _Niou_? Marui couldn't believe that he had forgotten Niou was a Trickster, and changed his appearance.

As Niou left the stage, he walked towards Marui. "So, hey there." He said with a lazy smile on his face. Marui stared, his mouth slightly open, still confused as to what was happening. Blinking and shaking his head, he sighed.

"I think… I drank too much or something," he mumbled to himself. Hearing a laugh, he glared up at the boy. "What's so funny?"

The smirk on Niou's face returned. "Nothing, nothing." He said, waving away the topic. "So, were you surprised by my amazing disguise?" Marui blinked and frowned at him. "And…" Niou started, "I don't remember ever inviting you here." _Oh crap_. Laughing lightly, Marui looked at his feet.

"Uh, yeah… about that-"

"Niou!" Yukimura called. Marui sighed and smiled at Yukimura and Kirihara. "Oh, and Marui-san too! Oh, so you two know each other?" Eyes widening, Marui shook his head franticly, trying to get as far away as possible from Niou. Niou just smiled and threw a lazy arm around Marui's shoulders. Marui tensed up.

"Of course, Yukimura-san." Another smirk, and the arm tightened around his waist. "We're great friends, right… Bunta-chan?" Niou sent him a look, adding more pressure to the arm around Marui's waist. Marui swallowed, uncomfortable with the sudden stares he was getting, and nodded slightly.

"Now, now Bunta-chan… you must speak up," Niou's head dipped down towards Marui's ear, and blew on it. Feeling a jolt of surprise, Niou smirked in victory. "Go on, speak up."

"Ah… ummm, y-yeah, sure." Marui said uncertainly.

Niou led Marui out the door, giving a quick 'Excuse us.' to Yukimura and Kirihara. When they stopped on the balcony, Niou turned. "So, who are you, what are you doing here, how did you get in here, and who are you working for?" He talked as if he had dealt with things like this often.

Grimacing, Marui sighed. "Marui Bunta, to enjoy the party, I came through the door, and I'm working for my boss." He couldn't possibly the _Trickster_ that he was here to get his secrets.

A lazy smirk was all he got from the man as he held up a glass. "Wine?" Marui eyed the glass warily, and grabbed the cup, a mumbled thanks, and he drank it in one big gulp. Feeling a bit dizzy, he jerked his arm out, grabbing the closest thing, so he could maintain his balance. "Now, now, girly… I didn't know you wanted to be like that." He heard a faint voice talking. "But of course, you probably can't understand what I'm saying, so let's go to my room."

Before falling into darkness, Marui vaguely felt himself being pushed somewhere inside.

/-/-/-/

**A/N: Another short one, sorry. Uhmmm vote on my poll. Uhmmm join the community 'CoffeeTeas Betas, Stories, and Favorites'. Uhmmm I'm a beta reader, so tell others about me, I love editing things! And… uh… platypus? **


	4. Interviewing Them Peoples

The Newspaper Stand

Summary: Marui Bunta, at your service! Just starting his job at the news department, he needs to get the goods on Niou Masaharu! Well, how do you get on the good side of the 'Trickster'? (marui/niou)

Pairing: Toxic Pair

Warnings: This is some boy/boy love! Turn back if you don't need to read it! Also, minor swearing… kissing. Etc. In later Chapters, though. Language.

Disclaimer: I own… nothing .

**I honestly wasn't going to upload anything today, since I'm sick. BUT, since I have like… the whole night to type this up, I WILL (: And, it's going to be like… a little longer, okay?**

/-/-/-/

"The… fuck?" Marui sat up in bed, rubbing his forehead with a cool hand. Looking around, partially dazed, Marui off-handedly knew that he _wasn't_ in his room. "Well," he sighed, getting up from the bed, only to steady himself against the wall, "Where am I?" Maybe his brain just _wasn't_ focusing today, for if it were, he would be freaking out by now.

"Hey, girly." Marui whipped around to face the silver-haired man, only to grab his head in pain. Looking up and casting an annoyed glare at Niou, Marui's frown deepened at the sound of laughter. Niou… was laughing. At him?

"Fuck you," he hissed angrily, childishly stomping his foot for emphasis. He only heard another laugh come from the man in front of him. "Fuck you." He said again, this time for emphasis, pouting angrily.

"I'm sorry, if I had known that you wanted me _that much_, I would've done more to you than…" Niou trailed off, looking some-what forlornly at the bed. Marui stared in horror, as he felt his mouth open in a silent scream. _What?_ Flailing his arms around wildly, Marui ran around the room, screaming.

"Oh, my god! NO! I can't believe it! I can _not_ believe it! I just lost my… I can't even say it! TO A FUCKING WHITE-HAIRED, OLD TRICKING GEEZER!" And then Niou tugged sadly at his hair, muttering things under his breath that sounded oddly close to 'I'm not _that _old, okay?'

Still running around the room, Marui stopped abruptly. "Wait a second, where am I, anyways?" He asked, whipping his head around wildly. "Oww," he moaned pointlessly, "I… hate parties. They suck they suck the suck."

"We're in _my_ house." Niou said, stepping up to stop the pink-head from giving himself anymore damage. "And it's not _you suck_. It's _you blow_."

Marui glared at him from underneath messy bangs. "Don't be so immature." And as an afterthought, he added, "And it's not _you blow_. It's _you swallow_." And he laughed to himself at the small reference to sex that he had made. "And, oh my god! I NEED TO GET TO WORK!" he jumped away and ran out the door.

"You're welcome for the hospitality." Niou said bitterly, watching as the pink haired boy left his house, and he rolled his eyes. What a brat. "Child." And he walked into the bathroom to get ready for his day. He had so many interviews to attend to, just asking about his party with _'Atobe Keigo; The King'_- Idolize Magazine's words, not his.

/-/-/-/

Marui sped down the road to his house, getting ready to go to work. Thank god he hadn't lost his key, or he would have been a dead fish. Or girl. Or man- whatever it was. He was so bewildered, that he couldn't process any coherent thoughts at the moment. Rushing out the door to the workplace, Marui panted as he came through the doors.

"Oh, yeah! Right. On. Time." And he did a little dance to prove his victory, some workers laughing at his childish antics.

"Marui Bunta! Just _what_ are you doing?" _Oh, shit_. Startled out of his wits, Marui abruptly turned around to face his boss with a sheepish grin, one arm still extended into the mock 'Disco' position he was using in dance. Rubbing the back of his head nervously, Marui brought up the only idea that had come to his mind at the moment.

"I'm practicing for my fish frying competition." He said it so casually, that his boss had to do a double-take, and stare down the boy.

"Excuse me?" _Marui Bunta was a unique being._

"Umm, what I mean is- hey look! Papers!" he grabbed papers off of a random desk, and flipping the papers in a rush. "See? Niou Masaharu has an interview with Idolize Magazine today!" He said casually. "Wait, what? Interview today? I never knew that…" he trailed off, as his boss stared at him with confusion.

"Why would you need to know that?" the man asked him, confused. "You're not in the research team. You're in the scandal team." He said it like it was the most logical thing that one could be doing as his job. And Marui nodded his head fastly with one jerky bob, agreeing whole-heartedly to whatever his boss was saying.

"Which reminds me," his boss continued to drone on and on, "did you learn anything about Niou Masaharu, yet?"

Marui stared at him, annoyed. "It's been one day." _You idiot._ "What could I learn in _one day_? Besides that fact that he's a freak of perfectionist nature?" Marui sighed to himself as he watched his boss walk away. "Screw this. I'm going to be a stripper." He muttered sarcastically under his breath for no one to hear.

/-/-/-/

"So, you posed as you're long friend Yagyuu-san at the party. Is there, perhaps, something _more_ than friendship going in that relationship?" The reporters constantly asked different forms of the same question. _Are you going out with Yagyuu, or not?_

"It's nothing more than a childhood friendship that we have." Niou resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"You left the party with a certain pink haired," this reporter continued, taking out a picture, "boy at the party. I heard that you went to your house. Who _is this_?" Niou smirked at this question, inwardly laughing at the reporter's question. _Who was the boy? Who was… the boy?_ And dozens of other reporters scrambled to take a look at the picture framing a pink haired boy and Niou.

"Just a lost bird." He smiled lazily at the reporters. "Now, that's enough questions for today, don't you think? I have to go to an interview with Idolize Magazine now." And he walked off the miniature stage, into a small conference room with cameras- broadcasting?

"Niou-san. We have come to understand that you, yourself, are bi-sexual. Do you have any other comments on the statement that you had made a few weeks ago?" The suited man gave Niou a dazzling smile, and Niou could smell the man-perfume (cologne) that the guy had on. Niou inwardly cringed at the smell.

"I like boys and girls."

"While singing your last song debut 'I think I'm In Love with a Nerd', were you thinking of anyone special?"

"No, not really anyone in general. Everyone can be a nerd." And sure enough, if you took a glance outside, there would be many girls _and_ boys dressed up as nerds… just for the sake of the song Niou had sung.

"Why do you think everyone calls you '_The_ Niou Msaharu'?"

"There needs to be a reason? Is my amazing-ness not enough for that title or something?" he gave a hard glare at the interviewer, receiving a small squeak of an apology. Inwardly, Niou was grinning like a Cheshire cat. People were so easy to fool sometimes.

/-/-/-/

Marui sighed as he clicked the T.V. off. Wow, that Niou could be such a show-off, and interviews never helped him learn anything about the man. It was completely obvious that Niou didn't take anything seriously at all. "Well, I did learn one thing. He likes… nerds?" and Marui laughed to himself at the stupidity of the thought.

"Anyways," Marui continued to talk to himself, clicking his tongue, "I need to learn more about Niou's history. Wow, I sound like some stalker. Well, actually, I kind of am. Nevermind." Working for a magazine may have one of the worst things Marui had ever thought of.

"Well," he started looking through several pages of notes on Niou, "He was born… eh not important. He likes cats. What the fuck? Oh, he plays tennis? I _am_ a tensai in that sport." Marui rambled on to himself, complimenting his genius.

/-/-/-/

**A/N: 1041 words, man! LOLOLOL. Sorry, that'a a big accomplishment for me, since school had been taking away my inspiration and turning it into x=90 while 90=x(y+2). Screw it.**

**And, on a side note- review! ANND I can beta stories, too.**

**Tell me if you want longer chapters, have any fic requests, want help on a story, etc. BLAH BLAH BLLAH. I hope you're not one to ignore author's notes. Cause if you are, then you're missing out on something. Something important. I will tell you something-**

**Ionno. LOL. I'm just hungry and cranky right now, not thinking clearly.**

**This story was not edited. I just wrote it and published it (again. Lol).**


	5. Tennis and Crepes, man

The Newspaper Stand

Summary: Marui Bunta, at your service! Just starting his job at the news department, he needs to get the goods on Niou Masaharu! Well, how do you get on the good side of the 'Trickster'? (marui/niou)

Pairing: Toxic Pair

Warnings: This is some boy/boy love! Turn back if you don't need to read it! Also, minor swearing… kissing. Etc. In later Chapters, though.

Disclaimer: You know what? I don't own anything. .

**I decided that I like this story, and I'm going to write a long chapter for those who reviewed yesterday and the days before. **

**This chapter is dedicated to lokica, frejahmitsu, LahDolphin, weiweian, and sugarkitt. &&& I think I'm pretty proud of this long chapter, dedicated to you guys (:**

/-/-/-/

"Tennis, tennis!" a black-haired youth skipped down a path, tugging on a teal-haired man. "We get to play tennis!" and the boy smiled a binding smile at the man behind him. The other man chuckled slightly and nodded at the boy.

"Sugar head!" Kirihara had cried out, after finally reaching the tennis courts. Not noticing the man cringing, Kirihara ran up to him. "Why'!" he said, in a burst of energy. He then threw the boy an accusing look. "You lied!" he pouted, "You said you were working, so you couldn't come with me and Mura for ice cream and tater tots!" Kirihara was practically yelling.

Marui scratched his head nervously. "I guess I found some free time?" he averted his eyes around the area, "You wanna play a game or something?" he asked, hands out, hoping that Kirihara would forget that he had lied.

"No." the b oy shook his head wildly. "I'm playing with Niou-senpai." Sometimes, Kirihara acted like a real child, despite his age of 21. "I'm playing with Niou-senpai," he repeated, "AND YOU CAN'T!" he started laughing hysterically at Marui.

Umm, okay? "Uh, alright? That's…cool…?" Marui sighed, shaking his head slightly at Kirihara. Yukimura just chuckled. Walking over towards a bench, Marui sat down and brought up a water bottle to his mouth. "Mmm," he sighed slightly, greedily drinking down the cool contents of the bottle.

"Niou-senpai!" the boy in front of Marui screamed out, Marui almost chocking on his water. Damn, was that boy loud. "Niou-senpai! Let's play tennis! _Tennis_. NOW!" Marui almost rolled his eyes. Hearing near-silent footsteps, Marui began to calmly drink more water, licking his lips.

"Yo," Marui jumped away, sputtering, water dripping down his shirt. _What?_ He looked back, only to see Niou. _The Trickster_, still bent over, mouth right where Marui's ear was a few seconds ago.

"W-wh-what?" Marui blinked rapidly, his mind barely processing any straight thoughts. Niou gave a lazy smile, leaning backwards casually, saying a small 'Puri'. Marui took in a deep breath, looking Niou over. White shirt, tennis shoes, black shorts. Marui shivered. He was completely, totally, ho- _What the fuck was he about to think?_ Marui's eyes widened, and he walked back a few steps. "Ah, uh, y'know, yeah." _I'm straight, damnit. And I will bend in no way, shape, or form. _He only received an amused glance.

"Geez, girly. I know I look stunning, but really. When you take peeks, be a bit more discreet." Niou said, smirking. Marui squashed down the thoughts of punching Niou in the face, instead, choosing to bash his open hand into his head. _Wow, great_. People near the courts were starting to stare.

"Niou-senpai!" Kirihara whined. "Tennis!" And Niou dutifully marched over to the tennis court, smiling. "Puri."

"Hey, Marui-kun." Yukimura smiled, walking over to Marui. "Don't do that, okay?" his smile seemed to go a bit cruel. "It's not worth it; I would know." Marui looked up at Yukimura, confused.

"Excuse me?" He didn't understand. "Don't do what?" But then tennis game had started, and Marui fixed his attention towards the courts, not hearing Yukimura whisper slightly '_Don't fall in love with him._' And then Yukimura, too, looked back to the tennis match, sighing heavily, feeling guilty, knowing that Marui's heart would soon break. Without the boy even noticing.

/-/-/-/

"Marui Bunta!" _Fuck, what did he do wrong this time?_ Marui sighed. His boss was annoyed- again. "Marui Bunta, come here this _instant_." Eyes widening, Marui walked slowly towards his boss' office. Was he going to die already? At the simple age of twenty three? _Oh, dear god, please save me_.

"What is this?" his boss held up a picture of Marui and Niou leaving the party together, in his hands. Marui bit his lip and averted his eyes.

"Umm, I have no idea?" he could've sworn he heard his boss growling. What?

"You didn't have sex with him, did you?"

"No, no! Of course not!" Marui spoke in a rushed tone. "I haven't had sex before!" Why, oh why was he having this conversation- and with his boss, no less? His boss looked about ready to laugh at his face, but he chose not to.

"Well, that's nice to know," his boss cleared his throat and chucked at Marui's expression. "I didn't really need to know that, but okay." Marui seemed to shrink in the presence of his boss.

"Well, excuse me, then. You're the one who asked in the first place." Marui felt extremely embarrassed for talking to his boss like this… about this. "But, you know… I need to go see my friends now, so uh, bye!" and he bolted out of the door, avoiding any conversation with his boos.

"Hey! Yukimura! Yeap, I got here right on time!" Marui cheered, yelling from across the street. Yukimura gave a nod, and waited for Marui to cross the street. "I'm ready to play some ten- ah! WHAT'SHEDOINGHERE?" he jumped away from the silver-haired boy, slightly afraid.

"You're going to play a match with Niou-senpai!" Kirihara laughed at him. "Sugar head, you haven't played tennis in a _really _long time, you're going to lose!" Marui resisted the urge to pout, frowning slightly at the younger boy.

"I played just last week!" he complained.

"I meant a real game." _Ouch._ Well, that wasn't very nice of Kirihara. Marui looked at the Trickster warily. Would he really lose? Hopefully not. Kirihara burst into laughter, and Marui crossed his arms, annoyed. _Well, excuse me_.

"I still win games with you, though." And that shut Kirihara up for a good two minutes.

/-/-/-/

"Niou-senpai! WIPE HIS ASS WITH THE GROUND!" Kirihara jumped up and down, yelling out comments.

"Akaya. Laguage. And, you didn't even have the correct grammar." Yukimura chided the boy, smiling at his childish personality.

Marui panted, brushing wet bangs from his eyes. "Fuck," he sighed, running across the court to hit back a rather heavy ball. "Tightrope…walking," he called out, watching the ball go across the net. "Oh, shit." He shook his head and growled out, watching as Niou was at the net in an instant.

_Damndamndamndamn. Damn it all._ "Niou Masaharu, Six games to five." Marui glared across the court. "AHAHAHAH!" Kirihara- the referee- yelled out happily, practically jumping out of his chair. "Sugar head, you LOST!"

"Ah, I'm sorry Marui-kun, we kind of gave Akaya too many crepes this morning…" Yukimura said from the sidelines, smiling.

Marui deadpanned and stared at Kirihara. "You lost to him too, didn't you Brat?" Kirihara stopped jumping in the seat, and pouted. He climbed down from his chair and ran over to Yukimura, complaining. "That's what I thought." Marui smirked, sticking out his tongue.

"Nice job, girly." Niou smiled, and Marui glared. _Was Niou mocking him?_ Although, I am _clearly_ superior in tennis, you did alright." Niou walked up to the net and held out a hand. Marui's glare intensified.

"You will die, Niou-san." He muttered under his breath, promising to completely kill Niou, next time they played tennis. After all, Niou couldn't possibly be a tensai like Marui, right? It. Wasn't. Possible. "I'm a tensai, I'm a tensai," Marui repeated under his breath like a mantra.

I. Am. A. Tensai.

/-/-/-/

**A/N: I don't know why I always end chapters with Marui complimenting his genius… ahahah. Okay, so this is like, what? 1,351 words. THAT'S WHAT. Okay, sorry. I'm really proud of myself. **

**So, I was meant to publish this yesterday, but my parents and sister made me get off the internet, resulting in an unhappy author that couldn't write, since she was sleeping. **

**It's SUNDAY. That means that Monday is tomorrow. It sucks, and I really needed to write this, in order to get all of my awesome-ness out on…ink? On computer.**

**ANYWAYS. I accept fic requests, beta reading is what I do, and yeah. Review, ne? Maybe a longer chapter next time. AND;; if I don't have a lot of homework tomorrow, then I can write the FIRST chapter of my NEW story 'Unfriendly Friendships'. Yeap. Maybe. Eh… yeah.**

**-CoffeTea (CT looks/sound weird, neh?)**


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